Deadly condition of the heart revealed in four generations

FOUR generations of Lucinda Cassidy’s family suffer from a medical condition that claims the lives of an average 18 people a day in Ireland.

The shocking statistic was revealed at Ireland’s first World Heart Rhythm Awareness Day in Dublin, to focus on the urgency of ensuring that those at risk from heart rhythm disorders are detected in time.

Lucinda, from Midleton, Co Cork, suffers from Long QT syndrome (LQTS), a disorder of the heart’s electrical system.

Like her grandmother, Lucy, and mother Marian, she was born with the condition and her nephew Sean is believed to be a borderline case.

Lucinda, 35, a mother of two, was diagnosed with LQTS at 18 years of age after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest while being treated in a London hospital for tonsillitis.

Medical staff were able to shock her heart back into a normal rhythm and the following year Lucinda was fitted with a pacemaker that has allowed her to lead a normal life.

Seven years ago, her grandmother was diagnosed with LQTS after being admitted to hospital for a routine operation.

Two years later, an electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed that her mother also had the condition.

Lucinda’s nephew, who is 11 years old, was diagnosed as a borderline case this year. Lucinda said all of her family are now regularly screened for the condition.

“What we really need is more public awareness about the condition. My heart is perfectly healthy but my electrical system is not right — that’s the way I was born,” said Lucinda.

Mary Vasseghi of the Irish Arrhythmia Alliance lost her son Darius two years ago when he was just 18 years old.

He suffered from Sudden Cardiac Death syndrome (SCD) that claims the lives of up to 5,000 Irish people every year.

“Most people are not aware that heart rhythm disorders — arrhythmias — exist, or of their critical nature, and that they exist even in young people,” Ms Vasseghi said.

A government taskforce report on SCD, published last year, recommended better detection of those at high risk from the condition, especially those involved in sport.

LQTS: the facts

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a disorder of the heart’s electrical system.

The person with the condition is vulnerable to fast, chaotic heartbeats that may lead to fainting and, in some cases, cardiac arrest and possibly sudden death.

A person can be born with a genetic predisposition to long QT syndrome, but it can also be induced by medications and other medical conditions.